


In Which a Ruler Swallows His Pride

by dotchan



Series: 100 Word Drabbles [51]
Category: Shin Sangokumusou | Dynasty Warriors
Genre: Alternate Character Interpretation, Gen, Wordcount: 100
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-30
Updated: 2016-10-30
Packaged: 2018-08-28 01:01:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8424514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dotchan/pseuds/dotchan
Summary: Written in 2006.





	

“Enjoy life. Forget Shu.”

Such had been the Prime Minister’s last bit of advice before he set out to die on the Plateau. At the time, I thought he was joking, so I didn’t pay him much mind. But with Wei’s army knocking at the front gates of the Capital, I thought of Kongming’s words again and I realized what he meant.

Shu’s existence had always been a bit of a lark, its fall inevitable. But as long as the people had peace, they wouldn’t care who was in charge.

Besides, I knew what they called me behind my back.

* * *

 _Unnecessarily Long and Tiresome Authoress’ Notes:_  
The first sentence is a very loose translation of a Chinese idiom (乐不思蜀) that originated due to Liu Chan’s carefree attitude after he surrendered to Wei; when asked about Shu, his reply went something along the lines of “Why in the world would I miss that dump?” Liu Chan’s nickname—Ah Dou—eventually became synonymous with incompetence.  
Personally, I don’t think Liu Chan was that dumb, just massively overshadowed by Zhuge Liang (Kongming being his style name, i.e., how a man is referred to by his peers after he comes of age).  
The Plateau is a reference to the Wu Zhang Plains. (Wu = five and Zhang = some unit of measurement that approximates to ~3.3 meters, IIRC.)


End file.
